NW – Lucky Green in the Pacific Northwest

As the winter chill begins to give way to the first days of Spring,

Seattle has to find new excuses to drink with friends besides the constant onslaught of shitty weather. For ravers in the Pacific Northwest, we have USC Events’ Lucky. The mishmash of green clovers and rainbow unicorns find a balance in both Celticfolklore and day glow fantasy. Headliners like Knife Party, NGHTMRE, Datsik and Aly & Filapromise that missing out on an event of this magnitude will only result in social media isolation, and a serious case of FOMO.

Entrance to the Tacoma Dome this time around was easy. Being diabetic with an assortment of needles and medications, raised no security hysteria compared to the overwhelming struggle I endured the last time I attended an event at the Tacoma Dome. After my speedy worry free entry, we were ready to explore.

Walking around, it was a similar layout to Freaknight, except the chill zone was between the main and trance stage. It should be mentioned

that the chill zone was its own light up, colorful wonderland. It was full of pretty lights, seesaws, makeshift lollipop trees and an industrial sized pegboard.

Waiting to meet up with some friends at the Leprechaun’s Lair, we caught Buku‘s first 10-min but didn’t stay long enough to form a substantiated opinion on Buku though enjoying it. Moving on to the trance stage, ReOrderwas very fun as he would jump in front of the decks waving his arms like wings. The visuals weren’t entirely mind-blowing but he was. He connected with the crowd and created an infectious vibe setting the tone for Mark Sherry. Though visuals were on the generic side, Mark Sherry’s entire set kept the crowd amped as in the last 5 minutes leaping into the crowd and danced until he was finally escorted back on stage.

Following with a let down set of Ferry Tayle, we left for the main stage – Lucky Arena – to catch the last 10 minutes of Audien’s set which completely lifted our spirits with a visual mixture of pink and purple ink blots. I didn’t know much about Audien beforehand but he earned himself a few new fans in the short period of time. Borgeous came on next playing every track with as much power and groove as he could. The entire crowd was in a wave of motion as “Zero Gravity” played with every bass note hitting harder than the last.

With the crowd riled up and ready for NGHTMRE, the ground shook as the bass became more intense. Laser shot out with smoke and “NGHTMRE” stripped across the screen as his remix of “limelight” came on. Everyone started dancing smoothly with their significant others, as the slow melody spread nothing but love over the crowd. Suddenly the chorus slammed the crowd with its vibrations, every person in the crowd just got down with each other while keeping wide grins plastered on their faces. Unfortunately, my blood glucose levels got dangerously low, requiring us to sit for Nicky Romero’s set. Slowly gaining my energy back through multiple fruit bars, I was ready for Knife Party.

Let me tell you, Knife Party’s set was probably the most gruesome and intense set I’ve ever seen. Through the set, a possessed girl’s face appeared on the screen spewing vomit in every direction. The crowd screamed with concern and an odd intrigue as centipedes crawled all over around the demonic presence. Snippets of “They Walk Among Us” started appearing as the alien zombified faces melted on the screen with the word “OBEY” in the background. Everyone was hypnotized by the disgusting images on the screen, as eardrum-shattering bass filled the room. Finally, he played an encore for the crowd as fireworks shot up to the ceiling of the dome.

Lucky 2017 was an event that will definitely stick with me and many others I know. Although the visuals for the opening DJs weren’t anything worth raving about, Knife Party’s visuals alone made the entire experience worth it. And with USC’s Bass Academy right around the corner, you know for a fact my eardrums may never heal after what they experienced.

About The Author

A current Grays Harbor student and Americorps service member. A new coming attendee of music festivals across the Pacific Northwest. First experience in rave culture was Global Dub 2016 (Excision) Eugene, Oregon.